A Guide for Patients Attending

Transcription

1 St. Luke s Radiation Oncology Network St. Luke s Hospital, Rathgar A Guide for Patients Attending

2 If you are coming to the St. Luke s Radiation Oncology Network St. Luke s Hospital (SLRON SLH) for the first time, you are likely to have many questions. This booklet is intended to give you some basic information that we hope will make your visit easier. Location of St. Luke s Hospital St. Luke s is set in the leafy suburbs of Dublin 6, on Highfield Road, Rathgar. As you enter the gates of St. Luke s Hospital, you will see the main entrance to the Hospital on the left. Rathmines N3 N2 M1 Rathmines Rd. Upper N1 N4 M50 Dublin N7 N7 N81 N31 Rathgar Ave. Rathgar Rd. N11 Terenure Rd. East Christchurch Rathgar Highfield Rd. Dartry Rd. St. Luke s Hospital Milltown Rd. Terenure Orwell Rd. Orwell Pk. Churchtown Rd. Rathfarnham Rd. Dodder Park Rd. Rathfarnham Braemor Rd. 1

3 Transport By Bus Rathgar Buses Bus No: 14 Dundrum Luas towards Beaumont Bus No: 15 Scholarstown Road to Eden Quay Bus No: 15A Limekiln Ave to Eden Quay Bus No: 15B Ballyboden Way to Eden Quay Bus No: 15E Scholarstown Road to Eden Quay Bus No: 65 Blessington to Eden Quay Bus No: 65B Citywest to Eden Quay Bus No: 74 Stocking Ave to Britain Quay Bus No: 74A Stocking Ave to Britain Quay/Grand Canal Quay. The bus stop for St. Luke s Hospital is on Rathgar Road (Christ Church). Upper Rathmines Bus No: 128 Clongriffin To Palmerstown Park Bus No: 142 Portmarnock to Palmerstown Park. Please ask the bus driver for any assistance. At Christ Church Rathgar bear left onto Highfield Road and continue on Highfield Road for 0.25 miles. Take the first turn right onto Oakland Drive (St. Luke s Hospital is sign posted at this point). St. Luke s Hospital is at the top of the avenue through the gates. Please see for more information. 2

4 By Car From the M50 Northbound: At Tallaght/M50 Junction 11 (N81)/Roundabout, leave the motorway (sign posted City Centre). At the roundabout, take the third exit (N81), which leads to the Spawell roundabout. From the M50 Southbound: At Tallaght/Templeogue exit, leave the motorway and take the left exit for Templeogue, which leads to the Spawell roundabout. At the Spawell roundabout, go straight. At the traffic lights (Junction with Cypress Grove Rd. and Old Bridge Rd.), go straight through Templeogue towards Terenure. At the junction with R112, go straight through at traffic lights. In 0.9 miles, go straight through at the traffic lights. Leave Terenure by Terenure Road East (R114) and arrive at Rathgar. At the traffic lights from Rathgar Village, go straight for approx 50 meters. At Christ Church Rathgar, bear right onto Highfield Road and go straight for 0.25 miles. Take the first turn right onto Oakland Drive (St. Luke s Hospital is sign posted at this point). St. Luke s Hospital is at the top of the avenue through the gates. From the City Centre: Follow the signs for Rathmines (R 114). From Rathmines, follow the signs for Rathgar (R 114). At the traffic lights, bear right (0.2 miles past The Swan Shopping Centre). At the next traffic lights, bear left onto Rathgar Road. Arrive at Rathgar. At Christ Church, bear left onto Highfield Road for 0.25 miles. Take the first turn right onto Oakland Drive (St. Luke s Hospital is sign posted at this point). Drive to the top of the avenue and go through the gates into the Hospital grounds. 3

5 Car Parking Free car parking is available on the grounds of St. Luke s Hospital. There are a number of disabled car parking places. Checking in for your appointment As you enter the gates of St. Luke s Hospital, you will see the main entrance to the Hospital on the left. As you enter the main reception area you will see the area for check-in to the right (behind glass screens). This is where you should check-in if you are arriving for an appointment. The Highfield Café and the Admissions Office are also located in this Reception Area. Hospital Facilities Shop The Oakland s Store is situated to the left of the main entrance of St. Luke s Hospital. The shop supplies treats, beverages, One4All gift cards as well as a bill pay service for customers. Opening hours are: Monday - Friday 8.00am pm Saturday 10.00am pm 4

6 The Highfield Café The Highfield Café is an assisted service area, providing a variety of sandwiches, pastries, snacks and homemade soups. Payment is by cash for all transactions. Café Opening Hours: Monday - Thursday 9am to 5.15pm Friday 9am to 4.15pm The Main Restaurant Visitors or out-patients are welcome to use the Restaurant for meals at lunchtime. However, to accommodate staff, we do restrict lunch time serving for visitors and out-patients to 1.30 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. All evening meals to be served in the restaurant must be ordered before 4.00 p.m. with a member of the catering staff. Opening hours are: Monday - Friday 9.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. (with a closure between 2.30 p.m p.m.) Saturday & Sunday 9.00 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. Patient Hygiene Information The St. Luke s Radiation Oncology Network is committed to providing a safe, healthy, clean environment and continually strives to improve the quality of our hygiene services. 5

7 Travel 2 Care Scheme The National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) understands that some patients referred for treatment and care to St. Luke s Radiation Oncology Network St. Luke s Hospital may need help towards meeting some of their travel costs. The NCCP funds a scheme entitled Travel2Care, which is administered by the Irish Cancer Society. The aim of the scheme is to help patients with some travel costs if they have a genuine financial difficulty in meeting the costs of travelling for appointments to St. Luke s Radiation Oncology Network St. Luke s Hospital and are living over 30km away. The Travel2Care scheme is being implemented on a phased basis, consistent with the transfer of cancer services to the designated cancer centres and satellite centre. Travel2Care may help towards some of the costs of public transport such as trains, buses or other private transport costs such as petrol and parking. Patients can put the funding received towards the transportation they are using to get to St. Luke s Radiation Oncology Network St. Luke s Hospital. 6

8 To avail of assistance through this scheme, an application must be made by a healthcare professional in the Hosptial. For more information please contact: Travel 2 care Irish Cancer Society Dublin 4 Ph: travel2care@irishcancer.ie 7

9 What is radiotherapy and why is it given? Radiotherapy uses carefully measured doses of radiation to treat many conditions, most of which are cancers. This can be done in a variety of ways, depending on the nature of your condition. The most commonly used method is called external beam radiotherapy and is delivered by highly sophisticated machines that very carefully direct radiation in to your body; these are called Linear Accelerators. It is also possible to deliver radiotherapy using specially designed tubes that are inserted into your body. This is known as internal radiotherapy or brachytherapy. How does radiotherapy work? Although radiotherapy affects both cancer and normal cells, it has a greater effect on cancer cells. Treatment aimed at cure will give the highest possible dose of radiation to the cancer area (within safe limits) in an attempt to kill all the cancer cells. Sometimes smaller doses are used, where the aim is to reduce the size of a tumour and/or relieve symptoms. This is called palliative radiotherapy. How is it given? Radiotherapy is given to the same part of the body each day and each treatment takes a few minutes. It does not hurt. The machine does not touch you and it is very much like having an ordinary x-ray. When receiving radiotherapy you are usually lying on your back. Any variation from this will be explained to you by your medical team. 8

10 The treatment is given Monday to Friday and each treatment takes between 20 and 35 minutes. You should allow an hour or so for each appointment. Occasionally you may miss a treatment(s) due to a public holiday or a machine service. This will be taken into consideration by your medical team. We would strongly encourage you not to miss any additional treatments unless these have been discussed and agreed by your medical team What are the benefits of radiotherapy? The purpose of radiotherapy is to destroy the cancer cells while causing as little damage as possible to normal cells. It can be used to treat many kinds of cancer in almost any part of the body. Radiotherapy is broadly divided into two main categories: radical or palliative. Your doctor will explain which category applies to you. Radical radiotherapy involves delivering high doses of radiation and a course of treatment generally lasts 1-7 weeks. It aims to cure the cancer (or control it for a prolonged period). It may be the only treatment you require but more frequently it is given in addition to surgery, chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. Palliative radiotherapy can be very helpful at reducing some of the symptoms of a cancer when cure is not possible. It is usually given over no more than a few days. 9

11 What are the side-effects of radiotherapy? Radiotherapy can damage or destroy normal cells and cause treatment side effects. Most of these are temporary and will be discussed in more detail by your medical team. The side effects of radiotherapy can be broadly split into two categories, early and late. Early side effects occur during, or within the first few weeks of finishing a course of radiotherapy. These are usually temporary. Late side effects are those which can develop months or even years after the end of radiotherapy. The risk of these is small and, whilst they are rarely severe, they may be permanent. Consent to Treatment Only when you are happy with all the information will you be asked to sign a consent form. This is a written record that you have agreed to the planned course of radiotherapy. Multidisciplinary Team Over the course of your time at the radiotherapy centre you will meet various members of the medical team Consultant Radiation Oncologist, Specialist Registrars, Radiation Oncology Nurses/Clinical Nurse Specialists, Radiation Therapists/ Specialists (these are specialists who operate the machines and give you your radiotherapy). You will not meet the planning and physics staff but they are part of the team that plan your radiotherapy treatment. 10

12 If you require it, you may also be referred to other members of the team such as the medical Social Worker, Dietician, Physiotherapist, Speech & Language Therapist and Psychooncologist. All members of the multidisciplinary team are available to give you help and advice about any aspect of your treatment and you don t need to be embarrassed to ask them anything you are concerned or anxious about. Appointment Times When you attend for your CT appointment your Radiation Therapist will endeavour to book your appointment times close to your preferred time. Since we treat strictly in order of appointment times, please try to attend at the time given to you. If you are delayed (1hr+) or unable to attend on any given day, please inform your treatment unit (phone number on appointment card). We aim to treat you within 20 minutes of your appointment. However, on occasion there may be a delay beyond this. You will be notified upon arrival if this is the case. Once you start treatment, your appointment card will be filled in each Friday or you will be given a print out of your appointments for the next week and we will try to accommodate specific requirements regarding change of appointment time(s). Please let one of the Radiation Therapists on your Unit know by the Wednesday if you need to make any changes. 11

13 Questions to Ask Your Doctor What type of cancer do I have and what stage is it in? What are my treatment options? What is the purpose of radiation treatment for my type of cancer? What is the probability that radiation therapy will work for me? If it works, what are the chances that the cancer will come back? What are the chances that the cancer will spread if I do not have radiation therapy? How will the radiation therapy be given? Will it be external beam or internal (brachytherapy)? How many treatments will I require and how long will my course of treatment last? What side effects should I expect and how do I manage them? Will I also need other treatments, such as chemotherapy, surgery, or hormone therapy? If so, when will I receive them, and in what order? Is there a clinical trial for which I might be eligible? If there is, should I participate in it? What are the benefits and risks of doing so? Can I drive myself to and from the treatment facility? Do you recommend I bring a friend or family member? 12

14 When can I resume normal eating habits? Will I need a special diet during or after my treatment? Will I be able to continue my normal activities during treatment? If not, how soon after treatment will I be able to resume them? Will radiation therapy affect my sex life or my ability to have children? Can I smoke or drink alcohol during my course of treatment? Is it safe to take vitamins or other self-prescribed medication during treatment? How can I expect to feel during treatment and in the weeks following radiation therapy? What are the reasons I should call you at night or on a weekend? After my treatment is completed, how often will I need to return for checkups? What are some of the support groups I can turn to during treatment? 13

15 Feedback and Complaints In the HSE, we want to give you the best possible care and treatment. But there may be times when you think we could do better. Sometimes you may even want to tell us about something we have done well. We want you to tell us if you have a comment, compliment or complaint about your health care. They allow us to continually improve our services. How do I make a comment, compliment or complaint? Talk to a member of HSE staff, service manager or complaints officer. yoursay@hse.ie with your feedback. Send a letter or fax to any HSE location. Ring us: Use our website comments and compliments facility at What will happen next? In the case of a comment or a compliment we will send you a letter of acknowledgement if you gave us your contact details. We will pass on your comment or compliment to the relevant service or staff member. They will acknowledge your verbal complaint immediately or as soon as possible. A written complaint will be acknowledged by a complaints officer in writing within five working days. 14

16 How will my complaint be dealt with? Depending on the nature and seriousness of your complaint: a staff member/service manager will attempt to resolve your complaint locally or a complaints officer will look into the issues raised in your complaint. How long will it take the complaints officer to look into my complaint? The complaints officer will look into your complaint within 30 working days of the date when it was acknowledged. If it takes longer to look into all the issues raised in your complaint, the complaints officer will notify you within 30 working days and will give you an update on what is happening every 20 working days after that. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint/ investigation carried out by the Complaints Office, you may seek a review from the Director of Advocacy. To do this, put your request in writing and post to Director of Advocacy HSE, Oak House, Millennium Park, Naas, Co. Kildare. More information on Your Service Your Say can be found at Other HSE helpful contacts National Information Line: Consumer Affairs:

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18 Print It For Me.com St. Luke s Radiation Oncology Network St. Luke s Hospital Highfield Road, Rathgar Dublin 6 Tel: patient.enquiry@slh.ie